Gingerbread Reindeer Cookies
These adorable Ginger Bread Reindeer Cookies are a real treat! They're rich, soft, and buttery, with delightful gingerbread spices and molasses flavor. Plus, they are so much fun to decorate and package up for some festive Christmas treats!
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
- ⅓ cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- Gingerbread Man Cookie Cutter you will flip it upside down to make reindeer
- Sanding sugar in gold and red
- Icing of choice (see sugar cookie glaze below) Royal Icing,Sugar Cookie Glaze (see recipe below), Buttercream, or Melted Candy Melts for decorating. Food coloring in black, brown, pink, red, and green.
Sugar Cookie Glaze
- 2 ½ cups confectioners' sugar sifted
- 2 tablespoon milk or water
- 2 tablespoon light corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract, depending on your preference
- food coloring black,brown, pink, red, and green.
Instructions
Reindeer Gingerbread Cookies
- In a large mixing bowl, blend softened butter and brown sugar until the mixture is smooth. Use an electric mixer to combine molasses, egg, cream, and vanilla extract until well mixed.
- In another bowl, sift together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined.
- Divide the dough in half, shape it into discs, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- After chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Use an upside-down gingerbread man cutter to create reindeer shapes.
- Place the cut-out cookies on prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown.
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet briefly before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, it's time to decorate! Pipe an oval shape with brown icing for the reindeer head. Pipe antlers and ears, filling them in. While the antlers are wet, sprinkle with gold sanding sugar.
- Use black icing to pipe eyes and mouth (and nose for Clarice). For Rudolf, pipe a red nose and sprinkle with red sanding sugar. Add red holly berries and green leaves on one of Clarice’s antlers. Finish with pink cheeks for Clarice.
- Allow the decorations to set, and enjoy your festive cookies!
Sugar Cookie Glaze
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk (or water) and corn syrup.
- Gradually whisk in the sifted confectioners' sugar until smooth. The mixture should be quite thick, almost like a paste, to make it suitable for piping.
- Mix in the vanilla or almond extract.
- For piping, you'll want a thicker consistency. If it's too thin, add more confectioners' sugar. If it's too thick, add a tiny amount of milk or water. Remember, when you're aiming to pipe details, it's essential the icing is not too runny; otherwise, it won't hold its shape.
- If using food coloring, divide the icing into separate bowls and mix in the desired colors (black, brown, pink, red, and green).
- Scoop the icing into piping bags cut tips small for detailed work.
- Allow the cookies to dry and enjoy.
Nutrition
Calories: 260kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 2gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 92mgPotassium: 117mgFiber: 1gSugar: 29gVitamin A: 285IUVitamin C: 0.02mgCalcium: 35mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!